Rajasthan Angel Investor Network to launch $15.6 m fund in 2018

Rajasthan Angel Investor Network (RAIN) is planning to launch a Rs 100 crore ($15.6 million) fund early next year, Mahavir Pratap Sharma, Chairman and Co-Founder of the 30-member investment firm. “The fund size will be at least Rs 100 crore and will focus on early stage or idea stage companies,” Sharma said in an email […]

“The fund size will be at least Rs 100 crore and will focus on early stage or idea stage companies,” Sharma said in an email interaction, adding that it will be sector and geography-agnostic fund.

Currently RAIN is looking at more SaaS and IOT based products and solutions for the masses and rural India.

Incorporated in 2011, Jaipur-based RAIN provides early stage capital and mentoring services to companies in the region. It seeks to invest in services and technology sectors focusing on consumer internet, application, IT, as well as participate in follow-on rounds of its portfolio companies.

Since its launch in 2013, RAIN has made over 30 investments. It invests about Rs 1 crore in each startup and keeps the same amount for follow-on rounds. The angel network aims to invest up to Rs 5 crore this year.

“RAIN has not exited any of the portfolio companies yet. We are looking to make two exits this financial year,” Sharma said.

Talking about the performance for the previous financial year, Sharma said, 2016-17 had seen a lot of churn with domains of interest and ideas changing. Most importantly, investors have become cautious and have started asking for a more revenue-based traction rather than just an idea and or a plan.

“The start-ups should focus on sustainability, market validation and revenue generation. If you have growth and increased traction, product development and funds will follow,” he added.

Angel investments amounted to funding of $17 million in India in FY2016 across 69 deals, marking an increase by 62 per cent in deal value and 47 per cent in deal volume from the previous financial year, according to an Innoven Capital report.

Other prominent angel networks in the country include Mumbai Angels, India Angel Network (IAN), Hyderabad Angels, Chennai Angels, Ah! Ventures, LetsVentures. In April, IAN launched its maiden fund with a corpus of $54.5 million. The fund marked its first close at $27 million.